Suttons Seeds Amazing Offers!...or just a scam?

RudolphHucker

I fell for one of Suttons Seeds amazing offers - 72 Stunning Perennials JUST £4.99 Plus Postage! reduced from £59.98

•  Order placed 7 September. Confirmation stated payment had been taken and the order would be despatched within 24 hours - IT WASN'T!

• email received 13 September advising me there was a delay and order would be despatched on 1 October - IT WASN'T!

• Chased up Suttons on 13 October and told order would be with me in 7 - 10 days - IT WASN'T

• Chased up Suttons on 26 October and told that the plants are NOW ready to be despatched, but they won't be able to manage to despatch them for 7 days (why?).

It has, so far, taken over 7 weeks to fail to fulfil an order for plug plants that Suttons claimed were immediately available. I would have been able to raise plug plants from seed in this time - but apparently Suttons can't.

I sent an email cancelling my order and got an immediate confirmation - stating that I would get a full refund in 7 WORKING days, which probably means 8 November at the earliest, but judging by their lies to date I doubt that will happen.

I am annoyed at the failure of Suttons to supply the plants I ordered, but having seen the reviews on here and on Trustpilot,  this appears to be a regular occurence, and I can't understand how a supplier can so often fail to supply the goods that have been ordered.

It strikes me that this could well be a scam - Suttons send marketing emails offering amazing limited time offers (I get their emails all the time). The customer places an order and the payment is taken immediately. There then follows a long period where delivery of the goods are promised, but never arrive.

Eventually, the customer gets frustrated and asks for a refund, which Suttons happily agree to.

The result is that Suttons effectively get an interest free loan for as long as the customer has been kept waiting (in my case 2 months).

Anyone else experienced this?

comeandgo

I paid and received their offer of 72 perennials last year.  It’s not a scam, they do arrive but too small to go into ground.  They need to be planted into pots and kept safe over the winter months.  Even then, only a few have survived to fully grown plants.

RudolphHucker

I realised they were only plugs, and expected to pot them on in September, giving them a chance to grow on before the frost kicks in.

Potting on in November would give less chance of the plants surviving through winter.

jon81uk

An interest free loan of £4.99 would have saved them maybe 4p. No company is taking payment for orders for this reason.

RudolphHucker

£10 with postage - with thousands of customers, it adds up

lincroft1710

RudolphHucker said:

£10 with postage - with thousands of customers, it adds up

With all the aggravation they get from dissatisfied customers and all the time spent on communication, plus the bad publicity, it would be not a profitable exercise for them.